I miss you Sam!!

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Where Did "Piss Poor" Come From??

Us older people need to learn something new every day...
Just to keep the grey matter tuned up.
Where did "Piss Poor" come from? Interesting history.

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a
pot. And then once it was full it was taken and sold to the tannery...
If you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor".
But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a
pot...
They "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low.
The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water
temperature Isn't just how you like it,

think about how things used to be. Here are some
facts about the 1500's!
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, And
they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to
smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the
custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house
had the privilege of the nice clean water,
Then all the other sons and men,

then the women and finally the
children.. Last of all were the babies. By then the water was so dirty you
could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby
out with the bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It
was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small
animals(mice, bugs) lived in the roof.

When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall
off the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This

posed a real problem in the bedroom
where bugs and other droppings Could mess up your nice clean bed.
Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some
protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.
Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that
would get slippery In the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the
floor to help keep their footing..
As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door,
It would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.
Hence: a thresh hold.
(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always
hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot.
They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew
for dinner, leaving leftovers In the pot to get cold overnight and then start
over the next day.
Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while.

Hence the rhyme:“Peas porridge hot, peas porridge
cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.

When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off.
It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon."
They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and
chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter.
Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food,
causing lead poisoning death.
This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so,
tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status..
Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle,
And guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes
knock the imbibers out for a couple of days..
Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for
burial.
They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family
would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up.

Hence the custom; holding a wake."

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to
bury people.

So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and
reuse the grave.

When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch
marks on the inside and they realized they had ben burying people alive. So
they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin
and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.
Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift)
to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be,
saved by the bell" or was "considered a dead ringer."

And that's the truth.
Now, whoever said history was boring!!!
So get out there and educate someone!
Share these facts with a friend.
Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, "What the heck
happened?"
We'll be friends until we are old and senile.
Then we'll be new friends.
Smile, it gives your face something to do!

Hi Sylvia, Wow, that is sure some interesting info. I sure did not know where "piss poor" came from. Actually, this is a very interesting post and you are absolutely right about history. Of course my blog is often about history but I really don't see that many bloggers that talk much about it. I'm going to keep a closer eye on your blog to see if you share more history! Thanks and have a great day.

What Can I Say?

I'm interested in almost everything. Use to like to travel, but it's too expensive now. I take Tai Chi classes, swim, volunteer in a Jump-start program for pre-schoolers. I'm an avid reader and like nearly everyone these days I follow politics avidly. I'm a former teacher and Special Projects Coordinator for a Telecommunications company, Assistant to the President of a Japanese silicon wafer manufacturing company. Am now enjoying retirement -- most of the time. I have two daughters, one son-in-law and two sons scattered all over the country. No grandchildren.

Stop Hate Starting Here

I Never Saw Another Butterfly

So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellowPerhaps if the sun’s tears would singagainst a white stone....

Such, such a yellowIs carried lightly ’way up high.It went away I’m sure because it wished to kiss the world good-bye.

For seven weeks I’ve lived in herePenned up inside this ghetto.But I have found what I love here.The dandelions call to meAnd the white chestnut branches in the court.

Only I never saw another butterfly. That butterfly was the last one.Butterflies don’t live in here, in the ghetto.

Written by Pavel Friedman, June 4, 1942 Born in Prague on Jan. 7, 1921.Deported to the Terezin Concentration Camp on April 26, 1942. Died in Aushchwitzon Sept. 29, 1944.

Thank You, Anthony!!

Check out his blog and photos!

Chasing Ashes

I love to write and it has been a hobby for a long time. Mysteries were always my escape reading during some of the darker times of my life and I finally decided to give it a try. I've actually written seven over the years. Unfortunately, my last computer disaster resulted in my losing three of the latest four. I did manage to salvage this one.